Potential Xavier Coaching Options

Below is a list of potential Xavier head coaches that was developed by Dustin Dow of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Chris Mack
Age: 39
Currently: Xavier assistant coach
Reasoning: Mack was Miller’s top assistant for five seasons and is a former Xavier player and graduate. He’s also a strong link of continuation whose hiring would make for an easy transition. Several players have spoken out in support of Mack, and he would be most equipped to retain recruiting commitments and current players, many of whom he was instrumental in recruiting. Miller said if Mack doesn’t get the Xavier job, then Mack would join Miller’s staff in Arizona.

Fran McCaffery
Age: 49
Currently: The head coach at Siena
Reasoning: McCaffery has taken three different teams to the NCAA Tournament, including Siena, which he led to a first-round upset of Ohio State this season. He is known for graduating his players, which is a key component at Xavier.

Brad Brownell
Age: 40
Currently: The head coach at Wright State
Reasoning: Brownell has taken both Wright State and UNC-Wilmington to the NCAA Tournament, and has won 20 or more games in five of seven seasons as a head coach. He’s never had a losing season and has finished worse than third place in his conference only once. Three times, he’s won a conference championship.

Brad Stevens
Age: 32
Currently: The head coach at Butler
Reasoning: He would be the youngest option certainly, but Stevens has proven himself to be an effective head coach, leading Butler to the NCAA Tournament in each of his two seasons in Indianapolis. He has Midwest recruiting connections and would fit the profile of Xavier’s most recent hires – Thad Matta and Sean Miller – who were young up-and-coming coaches whose success at Xavier benefited their career but also the XU program.

John Groce
Age: 37
Currently: The head coach at Ohio University
Reasoning: Groce was the recruiting architect under Thad Matta at Ohio State and a key assistant to Matta at Xavier. Now at OU, he’s establishing himself as a head coach, which may be a prerequisite for most candidates other than Mack.

Ken McDonald
Age: 39
Currently: The head coach at Western Kentucky
Reasoning: McDonald has been an assistant coach at Clemson, Georgia and Texas where he secured high-profile recruiting classes. After leaving Texas to take over at WKU a year ago, he led the Hilltoppers to a 25-9 season and a first-round NCAA Tournament victory.

Louis Orr
Age: 50
Currently: The head coach at Bowling Green
Reasoning: Orr has Xavier roots as a former XU assistant from 1991-94 and even deeper Cincinnati roots as a Withrow High School graduate. He was forced out of Seton Hall in 2006, but led Bowling Green to a Divisional title this season in the Mid-American Conference.

Jim Christian
Age: 44
Currently: The head coach at Texas Christian
Reasoning: Christian successfully led Kent State to six straight 20-win seasons from 2003-2008 before taking over at TCU this season. Bobinski noticed the job Christian did at Kent State with admiration. Christian, who has nationwide recruiting contacts, is reportedly well-compensated at TCU but would be in a more winnable position at Xavier.

Chris Mack will be Xavier's Next Coach

The recent loss of Sean Miller takes a huge hit on Xavier men's basketball, but can you blame him fore leaving? Arizona is a good opportunity and overall I don't think he left for the money, he left so he could better himself and coach a prestigious program that has been to 25 consecutive NCAA tournaments. I wish Coach Miller all the best and won't sulk over his loss like many fans will. He put up a 120-47 record while at Xavier over a 5-year span. He's the only coach in Xavier history that can say he took the team to one elite eight and one sweet sixteen.

Chris Mack in my opinion will be Xavier's next head coach and I said that before Miller even left. Xavier likes to hire from within and Mack has assisted Miller for his entire tenure as head coach at Xavier. Is this a good move.... I think so because Mack helped recruit the players on Xavier's current roster, a team that has been projected by many to be a possible preseason top-10 team next year. If Mack is named the head coach I believe the players on the current roster and coming in will stay and won't think twice about transferring. People need to remember Miller was an assistant as well under Thad Matta, like Mack was under Miller. Before assisting Miller, Mack was an assistant for three seasons under Skip Prosser. Click Here to learn more about Chris Mack, including his honors and history during his playing days at Xavier.

As fellow nkysportsworld blogger Adam mentioned in a previous post Xavier isn't considered to be a highly sought after coaching position but is a way for coaches to build their resumes and work their way up the coaching ranks in college basketball. Think of the coaches before Miller (Matta, Prosser, Gillen, etc.) all left for bigger programs and more money. One thing is to blame for this.... playing in what is considered to be a weak conference. If Xavier was in the Big 12, Big East, Big 10, etc. would Miller have left, no way. You can have the best facility in the world, the best fans, best administration and that all doesn't matter if you don't play in a big conference. Look how much trouble Memphis had trying to find a replacement for Calipari. They know they're a big name in college basketball but they were seeking top coaches from top conferences. They ended up going with one of their own Josh Pastner, just like Xavier will go from within with Mack.